The present invention relates to loading and stacking apparatus for handling large bales of hay or the like and more particularly to a bale loading and stacking apparatus incorporating an improved bale pick-up mechanism.
In harvesting crops such as hay, the current practice is to utilize mobile baling devices which collect the hay and form it into bales. The bales are discharged to the ground as they are formed. Wagons or trucks or the like are then driven over the field and the individual bales are loaded thereon for transportation to a place of storage or utilization.
It is common practice to form the hay in large rectangular bales of different sizes (depending on the baler used). Typical sizes are a so-called "one ton square" bale, also called a "4.times.4" bale, which measures 4.times.4.times.8 feet; a "3.times.4" one ton bale, which measures 3.times.4.times.8 feet; a 2.times.3.times.8 foot bale called a "half ton" or "2.times.3" bale (actually weighing about 600-700 pounds); and a 32 inch.times.32 inch.times.8 foot bale called a "half ton square" or "32.times.32 inch" bale. All such bales are referred to as large or big bales.
While some bale wagons are still loaded and unloaded by hand, a lifting apparatus such as a forklift truck is generally utilized to lift the bales (particularly the large bales) and to load them on the bale truck or wagon. After the bale wagon has been completely loaded, the bale wagon and forklift truck are then driven to the desired place of storage, where the forklift truck is used to unload or at least to stack the bales for storage. This is a cumbersome and time-consuming process and involves two operations.
A variety of complex accessory mechanisms have been incorporated into bale wagons to load and unload bales from bale wagons. The apparatus described in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,570 represents one of the more effective devices, wherein a bale pick-up and stacking mechanism is incorporated into a flat bed truck. This machine provides substantial savings over conventional methods for loading bales but is somewhat difficult to operate and requires the dedication of a flat bed truck to the single purpose of loading and stacking bales.
Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,345 (which is incorporated herein by reference) discloses a substantially improved type of bale loading mechanism wherein the bale loading mechanism is mounted on a trailer towed on an offset hitch behind a tractor. With this mechanism, a bale loading device on the front of the trailer is towed into contact with a bale so that pick-up forks extend under the bale. The loading device is then actuated to lift the bale upwardly, whereupon the bale slides rearwardly on an inclined storage bed or accumulating platform on the trailer and lodges at the rearmost position on the trailer. This operation is repeated until the accumulating platform and loading device are filled. At that point, the trailer is towed to a storage location and the bed is tipped rearwardly to deposit the bales in a stacked position at the storage location. The opposite procedure is used to unstack the bales for use.
In operating the apparatus of applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,345, it was observed that it was somewhat difficult to properly align the loading device with bales in the field so that pick-up forks on the front of the loading device would slide under the bales in a centered and aligned position.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved pick-up and loading device for bale handling machines and more particularly for the inclined bed bale handling apparatus of the type shown in applicant's co-pending patent application. Another object of the present invention is to provide loading apparatus for a bale handling system that is capable of picking up different sizes of large bales. Still another object is to provide a simplified hydraulic operating system for the improved loading device that is easily operated by a single action of a control valve by the tractor operator.